Familiar Desires: 5 (Protective Affairs) (10 page)

Michael glanced over at Alana. Her straight, blonde hair
hung around her face in a shoulder-length bob. He thought it suited their sassy
little mate.

It was so good to be near her again. He’d missed her. It had
taken him a while to get his mind around the fact that, after only one night,
he was tied to her so strongly, but the feelings were there, strong and deep
even though he fought them at first.

She’d left. He could never understand why and had thought
that maybe she was scared about how her life would change. She’d been so young
then. It wouldn’t have been strange.

Now, he knew it was more. He wanted to see that letter, but
he didn’t doubt there had been one. Her hurt over finding the woman in Kane’s
lap had been obvious when she’d talked about it. She’d run because of that and
he understood.

Understanding didn’t change facts though. This time she was
staying. He’d waited long enough for his woman to come home and claim what was
hers. Now they were claiming her and she’d just have to get used to it.

He let his eyes trail over her sleek form. In the black
Protectorate uniform, she looked every inch the predator she was, but very
sexy. Even when she’d approached them at eighteen, she’d had a grace and
bearing that made her stand out from those around her. Now that had transmuted
into an almost regal air even when she was wearing a uniform.

She was angry right now. He could see it in the mutinous set
of her lips and the narrowed eyes. The cat was bristling at the changes and
their demand that she stay with them. Regardless of what had been said about
her family or the Council, they would handle this themselves.

If worst came to worst, he’d toss her over his shoulder and
carry her to their house. She might be physically stronger, but she wouldn’t
use that power against them, not unless she felt she was in physical danger.
She wanted to be with them. It was in her eyes every time she looked at them.
She was running scared from the possibility of being hurt again. It wasn’t
going to happen, but it would take time to prove. They weren’t letting her go.
No one was going to stop them from solidifying the ties between them this time.

“Where are we eating?” Alana asked.

He could tell her attention really wasn’t on him even though
she glanced his way. No, she was alert, her eyes scanning the area, her head
moving slightly to catch the smallest sounds. The sight of her on guard and
ready for danger shouldn’t have aroused him, but it did. His cock hardened and
pressed tight to the fly of his jeans. He was glad he was wearing underwear,
otherwise the teeth of the zipper would be imprinted onto his dick.

“I thought we could all do with a nice steak after our walk.”
Michael would like to take her straight to his home and find something to eat
there, but they’d planned this last night.

It was time for Alana to reconnect. He didn’t know how she
was going to react to it. She’d been away from them, true, but she’d cut
herself off from her family as well. She’d only been back a few times and each
time she’d kept a distance even between her mother, father, brother and
sisters. Her home was here and it was time she remembered that.

“Sounds good. And we will talk more about your idea that I’m
staying with you.” She relaxed a little when they reached the Jeep, but her
hand stayed near her weapon and she still looked ready to spring. Her eyes
moved up and down the road almost as if she expected someone to attack them

He chuckled. She was determined, protective and beautiful.
Everything they could want in a woman.

Working for the Protectorate had honed her predatory
instincts. Even though he hated the years they’d been apart, he knew they’d
made her a stronger woman, which might have been a good thing. She’d be able to
handle being with them and had the confidence gained from her time on her own.

“You think about whether you want to stay in a guest room or
if you’d like to try sleeping with one or both of us.” Michael threw the provocative
comment out there knowing it would get a reaction.

She growled and bared her teeth at him. He knew it was
supposed to be a fierce expression, but it didn’t intimidate him. It excited
him. He wanted to drag her into his arms and kiss her until she couldn’t
remember why she was so angry. He reached out and gave her hand a gentle
squeeze as he opened the door for her.

So maybe fanning her anger wouldn’t make her realize the
connection between them was worth exploring. He was frustrated by the distance
she tried to keep between them. Irritating her was one of the few options open
to him. Well, until they managed to get her into their home and relaxed around
them a little.

He didn’t fool himself that it was going to be easy to
convince her. She’d believed they hadn’t wanted her for a long time. She’d
thought they hadn’t been ready to bond and at least one of them had turned to
another woman. He didn’t know which of the two ideas hurt her more. On top of
that, she hadn’t come here expecting this kind of confrontation.

Michael helped her up into the car and then got into the
back seat with her. Kane shot a frown at him and Michael just smiled back. The
only reason his brother was scowling was because he hadn’t thought of it first.
Michael didn’t slide over beside her although he did reach out and lace his
fingers with hers. He didn’t want her to feel trapped or pressured. Finding out
they weren’t eating alone was going to make her nervous enough. Aside from
that, he needed her to know she wasn’t a sex object. Although his cock was hard
and ready to drive deep into her pussy.

Once they got her into their home, they would have sex. He
knew it and so did she. That was something he looked forward to happening. Her
attraction to her mates and the strong connection between them as Familiar and
wizards would ensure it. It was why she was trying so hard to stay in the
hotel.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Kane came around the
front and opened the door for her. Alana stepped to the ground. She walked up
the sidewalk with Kane. Michael trailed, enjoying the sight of her rounded
buttocks swinging back and forth. The sexy roll captivated and tempted him. He
wanted to put out a hand and cup that rounded swell. The temptation made his
fingers itch.

Reminding himself that her family waited in there only went
so far. He kept far enough behind her that he couldn’t touch her until they
were inside the building and surrounded by people. Considering that they’d need
to consummate their bond before the Council to formalize the Familiar-wizard union,
he wasn’t held back by public spaces, but he wasn’t going to get her or himself
all heated up right before they had to see her family.

They’d already had enough trouble with her brother right
after she’d left. Michael grimaced. He and Kane would have enough problems with
their woman without adding tensions with her family. Hopefully, tonight would
help ease some of the old problems Alana had encountered or at least, show her
she could have nice conversation with them. Michael and Kane had set some rules
for the meal to keep the peace.

It hadn’t taken them many meetings with her family to know
that her mother’s and sisters’ attempts to get her home had included everything
from guilt trips to derision. Her brother had said their prodding had only made
her angry and more resistant to thinking about coming home. In a way, he
understood that. He knew it would make him furious.

The young woman acting as hostess grinned at them when they
stopped in front of her. This was one of their favorite restaurants so she was
familiar with them.

“Hi Kane, the rest of your party is already here and
waiting.” She looked curiously at Alana. “I’ll take you right to them.”

“Party?” Alana sounded suspicious. “I thought we were only
going to eat and have a discussion.”

“We’ll have that discussion later, but your family is going
to join us for a meal,” Kane said calmly.

Her eyebrows flew up and her mouth dropped open a little. “My
family? All of them?”

“All of them. Your father, mother, brother, and sisters as
well as their husbands. Well except for Rachel. She’s too far away and has
classes.” Michael lightly ruffled her hair. He liked the gesture and mussing up
that elegant style. She was very contained right now, trying to hide her
nervousness, but he knew she wasn’t as calm as she seemed.

“Why?” Her voice was soft as they made their way through the
tables. She frowned while she finger-combed her hair back into place.

“Maybe they thought you might want to see your family.” Her
father, Vincent, stood as they approached the table.

“I wanted to see you and I would have come over in the next
few days.” Alana stepped forward and hugged her father.

Vincent laughed. “It’s what usually comes after the seeing
that puts a certain angry look on your face. It’s good to see you, Alana. I’ve
missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too.” Alana smiled widely. “How are you?”

“Better now that you’re here.” He raised a hand when she
opened her mouth to interrupt. “I know you haven’t agreed to anything. I’m not
going to put any pressure on you to commit to them. There’s no faster way to
get you to dig in your heels.”

A flush of red rose on Alana’s cheeks. “You do know me.”

“Yes, your mother has the same tendency at times,” Vincent said
fondly. “Even though it drove me crazy sometimes, it’s one of the things I love
about her.”

The embrace with her mother was a little tense, but Michael
could see the love the woman had for Alana. Alana hugged her brother, Ryder,
and whispered something to him. Michael didn’t quite catch it all, but he
thought he heard the word sorry. He didn’t know why she’d apologize to her
brother. She nodded to her sisters and said hello to their mates.

That was something he’d expected. He’d known the
relationship with her sisters was strained on both sides. If her father’s read
of Alana was right, those actions only made her more determined to resist.

Alana shot him a narrow-eyed glance as she took her seat.
She was an angry cat right now. She probably thought they were trying to
pressure her. He knew she wouldn’t believe him if he tried to reassure her that
this was simply a meal and a chance to reconnect with her family without
reminders of the issues from the past. He wanted her to begin to see them as
something other than her opponents. Maybe, she’d begin to see that they hadn’t
all been against her.

“The last time we talked you said you’d been called to help
with a mission somewhere in the south. Were you able to help?” Her brother,
Ryder jumped into the lengthening silence.

“Well, not as much as I hoped and definitely not in the way
I thought I would, but yeah I helped a little.” Alana took a sip of the water
that was put in front of her.

Now, that answer made him curious. Michael tilted his head
and looked at her. For the moment, he ignored the menu placed in front of him. “What
were you doing?”

“A female tiger shifter had been targeted by a magic
creation of the worst kind. I don’t even know what it was, but no one had
control of that thing. They brought me in because they thought I could do some
damage to it and help stop it.” Alana looked at him.

Michael tensed and knew his brother had straightened as
well. Only the fact that she was sitting here unharmed and completely whole
kept him from raging. He took a deep breath and tried not to imagine what she
was talking about. From the short nonspecific description, he couldn’t say what
it was, but his imagination supplied him with plenty of possibilities. He wasn’t
so sure it was a good idea to keep talking about it, but they needed to learn
about her life. Even if it did make him want to lock her up in a room and do
his best to keep any kind of danger away from her.

“Not in the way you expected to help. Weren’t you strong
enough or wasn’t it something you could physically fight?” Kane’s voice sounded
a little strained and Michael saw the way he gripped the glass of water he
lifted to his lips. He hoped the cup didn’t break.

“Not physical. They had plenty of muscle for the job. I
tried frying it with the lightning. That works on most things, but this thing,
not so much. It hurt it, but the energy also fed it.” Alana grimaced and looked
down at the table.

“You were able to help in other ways?” Her father, Vincent,
asked.

Michael took a deep breath. He could easily see her getting
involved in the physical part, but he prayed that wasn’t what happened. He’d
didn’t want to have nightmares about her in a battle of strength against a
magical creation. The dreams he’d had while she was gone were bad enough
without the extra information to make it seem real.

“Yeah, but not with the big bad that was after her. They
took it down although the situation was tense for a little while. She also had
some man after her who wanted to use her abilities whether she wanted to help
him or not. I helped distract him a little.”

Michael knew she was being deliberately vague and was
thankful for that. If she’d been in any kind of danger, he didn’t want to know
about it right now. He hadn’t thought it would be this difficult to hear about
her time with the Protectorate. Now he realized he’d lived in denial of how
dangerous her work was.

“Let’s move this onto other subjects. I’m sure that Michael
and Kane have had enough for now.” Vincent glanced around the table with a
stern glance and stopped on Alana who merely nodded.

He definitely needed a break from the stories of her time
with the Protectorate. He had to make her understand that she belonged here and
that they wanted her as much as she wanted them. Once she accepted that her
life was here, her time with the Protectorate would come to an end. Until then,
at least he’d be with her when she faced danger.